lake water quality

Because the aeration system will not be in place at the end of August or in September, the only option open to us is applying a dose of biologicals. Any application of copper sulfate was ruled out because it would lower the oxygen level as the algae decayed and very possibly would cause a fish kill. If you click on the link below, you will be able to read an analysis of a sample of lake water from our lake. Since the analysis is difficult to interpret for anyone not skilled in aquatic biology, the webmaster will quote Bill Kirkpatrick’s interpretation of the results. Mr. Kirkpatrick has been our consultant for years and is the president of Aquatic Environment Consults, Inc. The general consensus of the quorum and the Lake and Dam Committee beyond the application of a strong dose of biologicals was to have a weekly test done on the lake water.

“Attached is the report for the water samples that we collected on August 18th. Microcystin levels was <1.0 µl/L. I have not been able to find where Pennsylvania or Maryland have established recreational water guidance or action levels for microcystin. Ohio has established levels. For levels above 6 µl/L, They have a Public Health Advisory PHA: swimming and wading are not recommended, water should not be swallowed and surface scum should be avoided. For levels above 20 µl/L they have a No Contact Advisory NCA: recommend the public avoid all contact with the water. The levels established by Ohio are similar with those of other states that have established action levels. Some states have advisory notices for algal cell counts >100,000 cell/ml. The most recent sample contained 550,000 cell/ml. You will notice that the species of algae has switched from Microcystis toPlanktothrix and Anabaena. You will notice that the cell counts are still high. Please let me know if you have any questions.”